Bourbon girl dies of rabies virus

Fifth-grader was Indiana's first fatal case since 1959.

Fifth-grader was Indiana's first fatal case since 1959.

November 03, 2006|ADAM JACKSON Tribune Staff Writer

With bright eyes and a sunny smile, Shannon Carroll's school picture shows a happy young girl on the cusp of adolescence, enjoying her young life. But on Thursday, that life was taken from the Triton Elementary School fifth-grader, as she succumbed to the first recorded human rabies fatality in Indiana since 1959. Jo Ann Klooz, a spokeswoman for Riley Children's Hospital, said Carroll, a Bourbon resident, was pronounced dead shortly after 6:30 a.m. due to complications arising from the infection. "There was an incredible team that came together to care for Shannon after her diagnosis," she said. "Unfortunately, rabies is almost always fatal." Authorities believe that Shannon contracted the disease in June, when a bat bit her while she was in her bedroom. The infection was the first recorded case of human rabies infection in Indiana since 1959. After the bite, the virus apparently lay dormant, until she began to show symptoms in early October. Shannon's diagnosis brought an immediate action by state and county health officials, who started searching for people who may have come into close contact with the girl during the incubation period of the disease. While cases of human-to-human transmission of rabies are extremely rare, the authorities took a better-safe-than-sorry approach to the situation, eventually identifying more than 30 people to receive a series of injections designed to halt the infection before it becomes active. Shannon's cousin Jackie McGowan said Shannon slipped into a coma shortly after she was admitted to Riley Children's Hospital. However, she said the family remained hopeful, as the child's condition showed occasional signs of improvement throughout the month. But when doctors determined that Shannon's brain had been catastrophically damaged by the attack of the virus, the family decided to have her removed from life support early Thursday. Now, McGowan said, the family is struggling to come to terms with the loss of the little girl who brought so much joy to their lives. "She was such a beautiful child; she loved cheerleading, playing soccer, being with her friends," she said. "We are going to miss her so much." That feeling extends to more than just her family. At Triton Elementary School, Shannon's classmates were being helped to come to terms with her death Thursday through the implementation of the district's action plan in the case of student deaths. Michael Chobanov, the Triton Junior-Senior High School principal, was working in the elementary school Thursday to help the kids deal with the grief, a task which is often especially difficult for young children like Shannon's classmates, he said. "They are so young, it is hard for them to come to terms with death," he said. "We have counselors from the Bowen Health Center in the school today to meet with her classmates and help them deal with this." Chobanov also said the district would likely plan an assembly in Shannon's honor sometime in the future, but no definite plans had been made yet. Staff writer Adam Jackson ajackson@sbtinfo.com (574) 936-1029